''Roald Dahl's Esio Trot'' is a British

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

that was first broadcast as part of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

's 2015 Christmas programming. It is an adaptation of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

's 1990 children's novel ''

Esio Trot ''Esio Trot'' is a children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. Published on 3 September 1990, it was the last of Dahl's books to be published in his lifetime; he died just two months later. Unlike o ...

'' in which a retired bachelor falls in love with his neighbour, a widow, who keeps a tortoise as a companion after the death of her husband. Featuring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

as the couple, with

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

as another neighbour, who acts as the narrator, it was broadcast on 1 January 2015. It was seen by 7.86 million viewers, making it the ninth-most watched programme on BBC1 and across all UK TV channels for the week ending 4 January 2015. It was repeated on BBC1 on 31 December 2015 and on BBC2 on 30 December 2016.

Cast

as Mrs Lavinia Silver *

as Mr Henry Hoppy *

as The Narrator *

Richard Cordery Richard Cordery is a character actor of film, television, and stage. Career Film and television Cordery's television credits include ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', as a prosecution Barrister (Series 5 Episode 6 - 1988), ''Doc Martin'' as Dennis Dod ...

as Mr Pringle * Pixie Davies as Roberta * Geoffrey McGivern as the Pet Shop Owner * Jimmy Akingbola as the keen Pet Shop Owner * Lisa Hammond as Mrs Desmond *Anna Cannings as Mrs Court *Joseph West as Philip * Katie Lyons as Philip's Mother *Polly Kemp as the woman on Bus *

Pik-Sen Lim Pik-Sen Lim (, born 15 September 1944) is a Malaysian-British actress. According to the British Film Institute, Lim was "the most familiar Chinese actor on British television screens in the 1970s and 80s." Her notable roles include Chin Lee i ...

as Mrs Wu *Salo Gardner as Mr Mavrokoukoudopolous *Emily Ralph as the little Girl

Music

The musical score is by composer Tim Phillips. All the commercial music used in the show is that of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer and trumpeter

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and his All-Stars; which include Edmond Hall,

Trummy Young James "Trummy" Young (January 12, 1912 – September 10, 1984) was an American trombonist in the swing era. He established himself as a star during his 12 years performing with Louis Armstrong in Armstrong's All Stars. He had one hit with his v ...

Billy Kyle William Osborne Kyle (July 14, 1914 – February 23, 1966) was an American jazz pianist. He is perhaps best known as an accompanist. Biography Kyle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He began playing the piano in school and ...

Arvell Shaw Arvell Shaw (September 15, 1923 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist, best known for his work with Louis Armstrong. Life and career He was born on September 15, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri. Shaw learned to play tuba in high ...

Barrett Deems Barrett Deems (March 1, 1914 – September 15, 1998) was an American swing drummer from Springfield, Illinois, United States. He worked in bands led by Jimmy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Red Norvo, and Muggsy Spanier. In ''High Society'', a 1956 ...

Differences from Dahl's novel

*Mr Pringle (Hoppy's rival for the affections of Mrs Silver) does not appear in the novel. *In the novel, Mr Hoppy's ruse of switching tortoises to fool Mrs Silver into thinking that hers is growing is successful and she never discovers the truth. In the movie, she discovers Mr Hoppy's plan but eventually marries him anyway.

Production

Charlotte Moore announced the television film at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 22 August 2013. It was produced by Hilary Bevan Jones and directed by

Dearbhla Walsh Dearbhla Walsh is an Irish film and television director who has worked on drama series for several television channels in Ireland and the United Kingdom, including episodes of '' EastEnders'', '' Shameless'' and ''The Tudors''. She won the 2009 ...

. Bevan Jones said: "To bring together two of the world’s favourite actors in Dame Judi and Dustin is a dream come true. Richard and Paul have captured the magic of Roald Dahl’s wonderful tale and I am thrilled that Dearbhla is to direct it." It was adapted by Richard Curtis and

Paul Mayhew-Archer Paul Mayhew-Archer MBE (born 6 January 1953Find The Company: ''Pau ...

, and filming took place in May 2014 in London. The apartment block featured in the film is Adelaide Wharf in Haggerston.

Reviews

The adaptation received praise, with Lucy Mangan in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' writing, “an utterly, completely, inescapably beguiling adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, directed by Dearbhla Walsh, narrated by James Corden and starring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench. You could argue that with a pedigree like that nothing could have gone wrong, but it doesn’t work like that. Although you can maximise your chances of being able to conjure it, charm is ineffable, alchemical. You can’t measure it out by the yard and cut it off when you’ve got enough. You can’t splash it on to a scene and then stopper it to make sure you’ve got enough for the next take. It just … appears, if you’re careful and if you’re lucky. And then it ripples through your film, or your play or your book, animating all and subtly transforming everything from a prosaic good – or even great – into a thing of wonder.”

Awards

References

External links

* * {{Richard Curtis British television films Films based on British novels Films based on children's books Films based on works by Roald Dahl Films about turtles Films shot in England Films about pets English-language television shows Films with screenplays by Richard Curtis 2015 television films 2015 films 2010s English-language films